Reading a short and on target article by Mr. Christopher Majid (http://bit.ly/2bvrT1b) reassured me that I have not been a lone voice of reason in the recent past. It reinforced my belief that much like squeezing a water balloon, the healthcare costs only get shifted around within the system from one stakeholder to another, [...]
Last night, I had the opportunity to attend a great panel discussion, hosted by the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas. On the panel were prominent members of the Texas healthcare community including a Chief Medical Officer, a Chief Executive Officer of a multi-national hospital system, an anesthesiologist, a Concierge Medicine physician, and a [...]
I don’t know about you but I am tired of hearing “well you know, physicians are so bad at business”. Now let’s be honest and examine the following exchange between yourself and your beloved physician: YOU: Hi doctor, my left leg got caught in a bear trap while deer hunting and it hurts like [...]
The Washington Post article is at: http://a.msn.com/01/en-us/AAe7m5p?ocid=se Once again, I am confounded by the shameless greed of hospitals in marking up the "price" of a medicine that saves lives in desperate situations. But then gain, in a true Machiavellian manner, that may well be the best time to mark up so shamelessly. What is the [...]
Today is my brother’s birthday, the only living member of the immediate family I was born into. Happy birthday “Bhyya” (that means “Big Brother”). My brother is a physician – a gastroenterologist. He is one of the finest human beings I know and I don’t say that only because he used to lend me [...]
Remember when we were in grade school? How many kids in our class did we think were really "smart"? How many did we think were "wicked smart"? Guess what happened in the intervening years - we all grew up and became professionals in one field or another. Guess also what happened to the number [...]
“Death of a Salesman”, by Arthur Miller, is a remarkable literary work that has haunted me ever since I watched a theatrical version of it many years ago. The story has become a constant reminder for me to remain vigilant of self-obsolescence, whether as an individual or a business. Combined with the widely shared sentiment that “change [...]
I recently came across a fascinating book by two of America’s leading economists, George Akerlof and Robert Shiller, “Phishing for Phools: The Economics of Manipulation & Deception”. The main focus of the work is the incredible ability and relentless intent of the free markets to spawn manipulation and deception, while also producing enormous wealth [...]
The movie Tombstone holds a special place in my memories for various reasons and the title of this post is one of my favorite lines by the character of Doc Holliday in the movie. But I do not intent to talk about Tombstone here, not today. On my mind is the hypocrisy of another [...]
President Obama’s recent article (http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2533698) in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) resurfaced the idea of a single-payer health plan. While I respect the President for many of him accomplishments and abilities, I am strongly opposed to his assertion that a government managed health plan is a good idea for the patients, providers, [...]
